


Drinks

by ardentaislinn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1374484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble based on today's Sneak Peek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The instant she saw the tattoo, the bottom dropped out of Regina’s stomach. She froze, staring at it as if it might leap up and bite her.

There was no way. _He_ was meant to be her true love? The one the pixie dust had led her to all those years ago?

Surely not. It was just a similar tattoo, that’s all.

“Is everything alright?” Robin asked, concerned. She glanced up into his eyes and her world shifted, tilting on its axis and rearranging in a way that was forever changed.

“No,” she whispered.

Regina pushed past him and ran out into the snow. She took deep, gasping breaths of the crisp winter air, trying desperately to bring herself under control. Thoughts and feelings were swirling through her mind, but she couldn’t quite grasp them long enough to make them out.

“Regina…,” she heard from behind her.

“We need to go back to town. There is nothing here to find,” she infused as much command into her voice as she could muster.

Robin hesitated, and then sighed in acquiescence.

They were silent for the whole drive back into town. Regina could see Robin glancing her way every few minutes, but he was obviously smart enough not to ask any questions.

She pulled over near the centre of town, and Robin moved to get out of the car. He turned back briefly.

“If it was something I did, I’m sorry.”

Regina managed to shake her head, but couldn’t think of anything to say, any explanation to give.

He gave her one last long look before he left the car.

Regina drove home in a daze. Her house was still and empty, as it always was these days.

She sat on the couch and stared at the wall, her mind churning with possibilities.

She had just met her True Love. Worse yet, she liked him. So what was holding her back? What was making her so afraid?

The answer was pretty clear.

She didn’t want to lose love again. She’d lost Daniel, and Henry, and her father. It would be too much.

And what if he was her True Love, but she wasn’t his? Was that even possible? If she let herself love him but he never loved her back – she couldn’t think of many things more tragic.

She thought back to what he had said about her not seeming so much like the Evil Queen and smiled. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she wasn’t that woman anymore. Maybe she could let herself believe that she did deserve a happy ending.

~~~

Two days later, she found him in The Rabbit Hole. She took a deep breath of courage and strolled right over to him.

“I’m sorry I ran out on our drink the other day. Perhaps I could buy you one now to make up for it?” she suggested.

He turned slowly to look her in the eye. And then he grinned.

“I would like nothing more.”


	2. Chapter 2

Regina curled into Robin’s side with sleepy satisfaction. His fingers trailed lightly over her arm and she felt herself drifting into a contented slumber.

“Regina?” he asked her softly.

“Hmmm?” she murmured.

“Why did you run when I offered you the drink in the cabin? And what made you change your mind? I’ve thought the moment through again and again, and I can’t work out what changed.”

Regina tensed, suddenly wide awake. She didn’t want to have this conversation. What if she told him and dismissed the idea of True Love, dismissed _her_? She couldn’t bear it. She’d just found some happiness, and had no desire to see it disappear so soon.

“It’s a long story,” she deflected, hoping he’d let it drop.

“We’ve got time,” he replied, pulling her even closer to his side.

She sighed softly. Perhaps he had a right to know. She thought back to what Tinkerbell had said in Neverland about how she had also ruined his life by running away from him that day long ago. She supposed he really should have all the information, even if it made her vulnerable. This was his second chance at love, too.

“It wasn’t that you offered me the drink. I just saw your tattoo.”

“My tattoo?” he asked, bringing his arm up to his face in the dim light to study it. “You ran because you didn’t like my tattoo?”

He sounded so confounded that she just had to laugh.

“No, nothing like that,” she said as she kissed his chest affectionately. She began making patterns on his chest with her fingers as she talked. “When I was young, before I became the Evil Queen, I met a fairy named Tinkerbell. I was miserable in a life I never chose for myself, and she wanted to help me find some happiness. She used her fairy dust to lead me to a man that was meant to be my True Love.”

She felt Robin still, but he didn’t say anything. Regina propped herself up on her elbow so she could see his face. He was looking at her with such a mix of hope and wonder that it gave Regina a dose of confidence.

“I only ever saw him from the back, but he had exactly that tattoo, in exactly that place.”

A smile blossomed across Robin’s face. “And you didn’t come and say hello?” he asked with a raised brow. She grinned back and lightly smacked him on the chest. He retaliated by hauling her towards him and kissing her fiercely.

After a moment, she pulled back. “Are you alright with it?” she asked him tentatively. “I mean, that fairy dust apparently declared us True Loves?”

He smoothed his hand down her hair and smiled gently.

“I couldn’t be happier.”


End file.
